HaydenM1974

Just wanted to share a modification I did to my tail lamps. The reason I did this was to make my car more visible at night as well as appearance reasons. The first two pictures are the end result. The pictures really don't do it justice but there are no hot spots or lenses looking anything other than their original color.





This was accomplished with the following LED product off of Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231084841170...84.m1439.l2648





I had to modify a single bulb base to have three connectors instead of the single connector. This was done by cutting three connectors from their bulb bases and soldering them to a new bulb base which I cut the connector off of.

I tried numerous locations for the LED panels and what you see in the pictures is what I settled on. With the light cover reinstalled none of the wires are at all visible. The turn signals and stop lights function as they do on many other cars having dual filament bulbs for turn signals and stop lights. The only permanent change to the car is the two small holes I had to drill to feed the wires through.

HaydenM1974

The very first picture on the thread is how it actually looks. Couldn't get a decent picture of the whole rear without the light from the car messing with the camera.

Ad0911

Tanks for sharing!\I am experimenting with LED rlights too, like the ones you used with regular fittings. What was the main reason for you tu use the 9-LED self adhesive lights in stead of the LED lights with regular fitting?

HaydenM1974

I used these so I could have the turn signal, parking light and brake light sections lit up all the time. The brake lights and turn signal lights get brighter via their actual bulb when in use. What you end up with is what you see in the first pic when you have your parking or headlights on rather than just the single parking light.

AirtekHVAC

That, sir, is kick ***!

77tony

Might want to check out what Carl (FLYVMO) has to say regarding his later type tail lights. Quote from thread "Empty shell to finished car" "I never could get used to the way the 928 was wired here in the USA. The human eye sees contrast (dark to bright) much quicker than varying shades (dim to bright), so the brake lights will only come on when the brake pedal is depressed." I tried LED's in Just Peachy (1980) and the incandescent bulbs had a more even dispersion and just looked better along with providing more light. Do like your idea about adding those flat LED's in there for more light in the older style housings.02 T

HaydenM1974

The LEDs I used for the brake light socket are significantly brighter than the LED panel that stays lit in there constantly and provides a good amount of contrast between the two. I suppose adding a third brake light would help the situation even more but I am very happy with the results. The LED panels mounted on the sides and tops within the housing do a good job in lighting the entire lens at that angle.

77tony

Cool. 3rd brake light LED strip incorporated into the rear headliner on Just Beachy (94) T

Jerry Feather

Very Cool, Hayden. I'm going to do that to both of my early cars. I ordered the 9 lite panels from ebay off your link. What bulbs should I get for the brake and turn lites?

HaydenM1974

I am using these right here...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161032794168...84.m1439.l2649

They seem to give off the most uniform light compared to some of the other designs. I went with the warm white because they don't wash out the color as much as the cool white.

HaydenM1974

I like it....If I was to add a third brake light, is there a convenient location to splice into the brake light circuit?

HaydenM1974

Here is a better picture of the whole rear of the car.

77tony

That being a later model, the wiring is already there. I swapped in an earlier model hatch glass without the large OEM brake light. You will not need to do this, but you will have to run a new line to the 3rd brake light. T

Jerry Feather

Thanks Hayden, but those don't look the same as the ones in your pictures.

HaydenM1974

The turn signal bulb in the picture is a different bulb in the picture (cool white and less LEDs) This has been changed to the warm white bulb I linked to which is what you see in the brake light socket.